1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of production printing systems and, in particular, to a support structure for a photoconductive drum of a printing system.
2. Statement of the Problem
Businesses or other entities having a need for volume printing typically purchase a production printing system. A production printing system comprises a high-speed printer used for volume printing, such as 100 pages per minute or more. The production printing systems are typically continuous-forms printers that print on paper or some other printable medium that is stored on large rolls. Some continuous-forms printers are able to print on paper up to 20 inches wide or more.
One type of high-speed printer is a laser printer. The core component of a laser printer is the photoreceptor, which is typically a revolving drum or cylinder. The photoreceptor is made out of highly photoconductive material that is discharged by light photons, and is often referred to as a “photoconductive drum” or simply a “drum”. Depending on the throughput of a laser printer, the photoconductive drum may have to be replaced quite often, such as every couple weeks. Unfortunately in many production-type laser printers, the task of replacing the drum is quite burdensome. First, tools are needed to replace the drum, such as a drum extension rod and wrenches. Secondly, the process of removing the old drum and installing a new drum requires some skill and time. The availability of the tools and the time and skill involved in replacing the drum typically does not allow a customer to replace the drum. Thus, a service engineer may have to be called to the customer's site to replace the drum, which may be costly to the customer.